Removal of Carbon Dioxide From Natural Gas For LNG Production

Optimization of Amine Base CO2 Removal Process
REMOVAL OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM NATURAL GAS

FOR LNG PRODUCTION
Semester Project Work
By Supervised by:
Salako Abiodun Ebenezer Prof. J. S. Gudmundsson
Institute of Petroleum Technology

Norwegian University of Science and
Technology
Trondheim
Norway
Trondheim
December 2005
i
Abstract
Removal of CO2 from natural gas is currently a global issue, apart from meeting the
customers contract specifications and for successful liquefaction process in LNG project,
it is also a measure for reducing the global CO2 emission.
The aims of this project is to present a comprehensive review of different processes

available and suitable for removal of CO2 from natural gas to meet LNG production
specifications and explore the capability of HYSYS process simulator to predict the CO2
removal process operating conditions range at which hydrocarbon and chemical loss
(amine solvent) can be minimized.
A base case of amine base CO2 removal process from a text (GPSA, 1998) is used to
create a steady-state simulation using Hyprotech HYSYS 3.2 process simulator. The
simulation program developed is used to modify the physical, thermodynamics and
transport properties of the gas and the process units involves to improve process
environmental performance.
Water content of the natural gas is computed by HYSYS program to fully define the
process feed stream composition and the agreement between the water content of the
natural gas estimated using HYSYS at selected temperature and pressure range with the
estimate from GPSA correlation chart is used as a criteria to establish the accuracy of the
HYSYS model developed.
The simulation results shows that increasing amine CO2 capturing capacity at low
temperature and lowering the amine residence time in the stripper, reduces the tendency
for CO2 emission and chemical (solvent) loss.
ii
Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my Supervisor Professor Jon Steinar

Gudmundsson for his unalloyed support, advice, and guidance during the course of
writing this project.
I also wish to thank some of my class mate for their contributions one way or the other in
order to make this project a successful one, especially to Olumide Gbadamosi who offers
tremendous services during the formatting stage of the project.
Special thanks to NORAD Scholarships award for given me the opportunity to study here
in Norway.
Lastly to my parents for there moral support, I will always be grateful for their loving
kindness.
iii
List of Contents
Abstract -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ii
Acknowledgements --------------------------------------------------------------------------------iii
List of Tables--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vi
List of Figures------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vii
1 INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------1
2 LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG) PRODUCTION------------------------------3
2.1 Gas Production and Field Development --------------------------------------------------3
2.2 Onshore Gas Treatment---------------------------------------------------------------------3
2.3 Liquefaction Process ------------------------------------------------------------------------4
2.4 LNG Shipping --------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
2.5 Receiving and Re-gasification Terminal --------------------------------------------------5
2.6 End use as Fuel-------------------------------------------------------------------------------5
3 CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL PROCESSES --------------------------------------6
3.1 Process selection factors--------------------------------------------------------------------6
3.2 Physical absorption processes -------------------------------------------------------------7
3.2.1 Selexol process --------------------------------------------------------------------------8
3.2.1.1 Process description----------------------------------------------------------------8
3.2.2 Rectisol process ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
3.2.2.1 Process description of rectisol process --------------------------------------- 10
3.2.3 Fluor process-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
3.2.3.1 Process description for low medium CO2 content ------------------------- 11
3.2.3.2 High CO2 content fluor solvent application---------------------------------- 12
3.3 Chemical absorption process------------------------------------------------------------- 13
3.3.1 Potassium carbonate process ------------------------------------------------------- 14
3.3.2 Process description of carbonate process ----------------------------------------- 14
3.4 Membrane process ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
3.4.1 Process description------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
3.5 Adsorption process------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18
3.6 Cryogenic process ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19
3.7 Hybrid separation processes ------------------------------------------------------------- 19
4 WATER CONTENT OF NATURAL GAS ------------------------------------------- 21
4.1 Water content determination using GPSA chart --------------------------------------- 22
4.2 Water content determination using hysys program------------------------------------ 22
4.3 Comparison of water content results ---------------------------------------------------- 23
5 HYSYS PROCESS SIMULATION PACKAGE------------------------------------- 24
6 AMINE BASE PROCESS FACILITIES---------------------------------------------- 26
6.1 Process description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28
6.2 Justification of amine process ------------------------------------------------------------ 29
6.3 Economic factors in operating gas treating process ---------------------------------- 30
6.4 Process cost analysis. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 30
iv
7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT --------------------------------------------------------- 33

8 HYSYS SIMULATION OF AMINE PROCESS ------------------------------------ 36
8.1 Description of process equipment ------------------------------------------------------- 36
8.2 Hysys simulation procedures ------------------------------------------------------------- 38
9 SIMULATION RESULTS/DISCUSSION OF RESULTS ------------------------- 42
9.1 Simulation results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42
9.2 Discussion of results----------------------------------------------------------------------- 42
10 CONCLUSIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
NOMENCLATURE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45
REFERENCES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46
APPENDIX A: Basic Raw Data and Base Case Simulation Data ------------------------- 64
APPENDICES B: Water Content Determination Procedures ----------------------------- 65
v
List of Tables
Table 1: Wastes Types Generated in Different CO2 Removal Process units ................... 34
Table 2: Data Generated from the Simulation Model...................................................... 47
Table 3 Effect of Lean Amine Circulation Rate on Amine Loading at 35 oC ................ 49
Table 4. Effect of Lean Amine Circulation Rate on Amine Loading at 40oC ................. 49
Table 5 Natural Sour Feed Gas Composition ................................................................. 49
Table 6 Gas Product Stream composition after absorption process ............................... 50
Table 7 Typical LNG Product Specification, (David Coyle et al).................................. 50
Table 8 Water Content from HYSYS Simulator in [mg/Sm3]........................................ 58
Table 9 Water Content from GPSA Chart in [mg/Sm3] ................................................. 58
Table 10 Water Content Comparison in [mg/Sm3] for 100 and 500 kpa......................... 59
Table 11 Water Content Comparison in [mg/Sm3] for 1000 and 1500 kpa...................... 59
Table 12 Approximate Guideline for amine Processes (Kensell, 1979)........................... 61
Table 13 Physical Properties of Amines (Source from GPSA) ....................................... 61
Table 14 Water Content Evaluated ................................................................................... 67
vi
List of Figures
Figure 1 Fluid Package Basis (Amine fluid Package) ...................................................... 38
Figure 2 Component selection windows........................................................................... 38
Figure 3 Un-simulated Amine Process Flow Diagrams ................................................... 39
Figure 4 Sour Gas specification windows ........................................................................ 39
Figure 5 Converged window of the Absorber................................................................... 40
Figure 6 Converged windows for regenerator unit ........................................................... 41
Figure 7 Complete Simulations Unit. ............................................................................. 41
Figure 8 % of CO2 in the Sweet Gas as a Function of Amine Concentration.................. 51
Figure 9 Effects of Pressure and Temperature on % CO2 in the Sweet Gas ..................... 51
Figure 10 Effects of CO2 Loading in DEAmine with pressure and Temperature ............. 52
Figure 11 Partial Pressure of CO2 in Solution as Function of CO2 Loading of 25wt%
DEA .................................................................................................................................. 52
DEA .................................................................................................................................. 53
DEA .................................................................................................................................. 53
Figure 14 Lean DEA Circulation rate vs. CO2 loading in 35wt% DEA.......................... 54
Figure 15 Lean DEA Circulation rate vs. molCO2 in the acid gas with 35wt% DEA.... 54
Figure 16A Typical Amine Base process Diagram .......................................................... 55
Figure 17 A Typical Fluor Solvent Process unit............................................................... 55
Figure 18 A typical Selexol Process Unit ....................................................................... 56
Figur 19 Process Capabilities for gas treating process ..................................................... 56
Figure 20 Cooling Curve of Natural Gas and Evaporating temperature in .................... 57
Figure 21 Typical LNG liquefaction Cascade arrangements........................................ 57
Figure 22 Typical LNG Liquefaction Mixed refrigerant arrangements (Statoil/Linde)
........................................................................................................................................... 58
Figure 23 Comparison of Fluor solvent and Promoted MDEA process relative cost . 60
Figure 24 Comparison of Fluor Solvent and Promoted MDEA process Parameters. ..... 60
Figure 25 Flow Process for Determination of Water Content ......................................... 62
Figure 26 Water Content of Hydrocarbon Gas from GPSA ....................................... 63
vii
1 INTRODUCTION
The increase in demand for energy worldwide has aid the search for alternative sources of
primary energy even to the remote part of the globe. The major alternative source with
less environmental impact discovered some decade ago is energy from natural gas.
Natural gas at its geological conditions in some deposits contain some complex
contaminants such as CO2, H2S, CO, Mercaptan ( Acid Gas), which constitute great
environmental hazards when get to the atmosphere and also hindered natural gas
processes.
Natural gas is of little value unless it can be brought from the wellhead to the customers,
who may be several thousand of kilometer from the source. Natural gas is relatively low
in energy content per unit volume, it is expensive to transport. The most popular way to
move gas from the source to the consumer is through pipelines. However as
transportation distance increases, pipelines become uneconomical, Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG), Gas to liquid and chemicals are more viable options.
Liquefaction process which is the transformation of natural gas to liquid form involve
operation at a very low Temperature (-161oC) and as low as atmospheric pressure. At
these conditions CO2 can freeze out on exchanger surface, plugging lines and reduce
plant efficiency. Therefore there is need for removal of CO2 before liquefaction process,
this is done not to overcome the process bottle necks but also to meet the LNG product
specifications, prevent corrosion of process equipment and environmental performance.
There are many acid gas treating processes available for removal of CO2 from natural
gas. These processes include Chemical solvents, Physical solvents, Adsorption Processes
Hybrid solvents and Physical separation (Membrane) (Kohl and Nielsen, 1997);
The chemical solvents and physical solvents or combination of these two have been used
extensively in existing base load LNG facilities (David Coyle et. al 2003).
1
Today, computer-aided process simulation is nearly universally recognized as an essential

tool in the process industries. Indeed, simulation software play a key role in: process
development to study process alternatives, assess feasibility and preliminary
economics, and interpret pilot-plant data; process design to optimize hardware and flow-
sheets, estimate equipment and operating cost and investigate feedstock flexibility; and
plant operation to reduce energy use, increase yield and improve pollution control.
The ability of the LNG option to continue to compete with existing and emerging gas
monetization, option will depend on the industrys success in reducing cost throughout
the LNG value chain and maintaining exceptional safety, reliable and less environmental
impact operations.
This project therefore summarizes the various processes available and suitable for
removal of CO2 from natural gas to meet the LNG stringent specification of about 50-100
ppmv or 2-3% CO2 concentration in the product stream. Different processes scalability,
advantages and disadvantages will be highlighted. Simulation of a typical amine solvent
based CO2 removal plant using HYSYS process simulator to establish optimum operating
conditions that will improve process environmental performance will be considered in
detail.
2
2 LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG) PRODUCTION
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Production is one of the fastest growing process nowadays,
LNG trade is said to account for about 24.2% of international natural gas trade (Cornot-
Gandolphe and chabrelie, 1995).
LNG production value chains include the following steps;
Gas Production and Field Processing
Onshore gas treatment
Gas Conversion Via Liquefaction
LNG Shipping
Receiving Terminal
End use as Fuel (Power Generation, Fertilizer Industry, gas Distribution, etc.)
2.1 Gas Production and Field Development
The exploration and production of gas is the starting point for all gas utilization options.
The source of natural gas feed to the LNG plant could be either associated gas or non-
associated gas. Natural gas is naturally occurring gaseous mixture or hydrocarbon
components and consists mainly of methane. Other constituents include ethane, propane
and butane which is refers to as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate which are
heavier hydrocarbons. The compositions of the gas differ from one gas reservoir to
another. The gas production step includes some field processing depending on the nature
of the gas source and the requirement for pipeline transport to liquefaction site. Typically,
field processing is needed to prevent hydrocarbon drop-out, hydrate formation or
corrosion in the pipeline to the liquefaction site.
2.2 Onshore Gas Treatment
The gas from the reservoir may also contain components such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide
and sulfur compounds. The feed gas has to be treated for removal of impurities before it
can be liquefied. Hence onshore gas treatment is required to meet the specification set by
the LNG buyers as well as requirements for the LNG liquefaction process. Typical LNG
product specifications are listed in table 7.
3
The onshore gas treatment typically comprises of gas reception facilities, Acid gas
removal and disposal section, gas dehydration, mercury removal and particle filtration.
The gas reception facilities section provided for the removal of liquid entrainment gather
in the system due to condensation and pressure reduction of the fluid (Joule Thomson
effect). At this section the pressure of the LNG feed is adjusted to meet the requirement
of the liquefaction facilities. If the pressure is lower than that of the liquefaction facilities
a compressor may be installed to beef up the pressure difference.
Acid gas removal and disposal section is provided to remove acid gases (CO2, H2S and
other sulfur components) from the feed gas. The extent of removal is influenced by the
LNG specification and the requirement of the liquefaction process. Detail is discussed in
chapter 3 of this paper.
The dehydration section removes water from the fees gas. Water vapor must be removed
to prevent corrosion, and freezing in the liquefaction process of the plant that operate at
cryogenic condition.
Trace of mercury in the feed gas, which attacks piping, and equipment made from
aluminum and aluminum compounds is removed in the mercury removal section.
Aluminum is universally used for the construction of cryogenic equipment.
Filtration of the gas stream following the mercury removal unit is essential to prevent
particle into the liquefaction section of the plant, thus prevent equipment plugging.
2.3 Liquefaction Process
The liquefaction section is the heart of LNG value chain. The process involved cooling
the clean feed gas in succession (Pre-cooling, Liquefaction and Sub-cooling) to -161 oC
using mechanical refrigeration. A typical successive cooling process curve is shown in
figure 20. The refrigerants for LNG process must have high evaporating temperature to
reduce power needed for heat pumping. For effective cooling there should be a close
4
match between the natural gas and refrigerants temperature curves and this could be
achieved by the following;
Using many stages of evaporating temperature ( Cascade Process)
Using refrigerant that evaporate at gliding temperature ( Mixed refrigerants)
Figure 21 and 22 show typical Cascade process arrangement with three Different
refrigerants combined together (Propane, Ethylene and Methane) and mixed refrigerant
arrangement respectively.
2.4 LNG Shipping
After the liquefaction process and subsequent Storage, the LNG is pumped from the
storage tank to a LNG ship via a loading jetty; LNG vapor return from the ship to the
storage tank is always provided to avoid pressure build up in the ship. The LNG is then
shipped commercially in a fully refrigerated liquid state. The ship cargo is kept cool by
evaporating a fraction of the cargo which is referred to as boiloff. The carriers either
consume boiloff or re-liquefy the gas and use diesel as fuel.
2.5 Receiving and Re-gasification Terminal
The LNG from the ship is received in this section, stored and re-vapourize for sales on
demand. The amount of reserve capacity depends on expected shipping delays, seasonal
variation of supply and consumption
2.6 End use as Fuel
LNG can be applied in a wide rage of energy needs as follow;

As a feedstock for manufacturing of chemicals ( Fertilizer, ammonia)
An excellent fuel for powering boilers.
For electrical power generation.
As fuel for transportation ( Train, Buses and LNG ships)
5
3 CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL PROCESSES
The removal of acid gases (CO2, H2S and other sulfur components) from natural gas is
often referred to as gas sweetening process. Carbon dioxide present in the natural gas
need to be removed in other to; increase the heating value of the gas, prevent corrosion of
pipeline and gas process equipment and crystallization of CO2 during cryogenic process
(liquefaction process). The removal of carbon dioxide can be accomplished in a numbers
of ways. Varieties of processes and (improvement of each) have been developed over the
years to treat certain types of gas with the aim of optimizing capital cost and operating
cost, meet Gas specifications and for environmental purpose (Tennyson et .al 1977).
The major processes available can be grouped as follows (Maddox, 1982);
Absorption Processes (Chemical and Physical absorption)
Adsorption Process (Solid Surface)
Physical Separation (Membrane, Cryogenic Separation)
Hybrid Solution (Mixed Physical and Chemical Solvent)
3.1 Process selection factors
Today, the field of acid gas removal process is so wide and available processes are so
numerous, thus selection of an optimum process becomes an issue. Each of the processes
has advantages relatives to others for certain applications; therefore in selection of the
appropriate process, the following factors should be put into consideration:
Type and concentration of impurities in the feed gas
The concentration of each contaminants and degree of removal required.
Hydrocarbon composition of the gas
Final specification
Capital and operating cost
Volume of gas to be processed
Selectivity required for acid gas removal
Conditions at which the feed gas is available for processing.
6
Decision in selecting a CO2 removal process can be simplified by gas composition and
operating conditions. High CO2 partial pressure in the feed gas (345 kpa) enhances the
possibilities of employing physical solvent, while the presence of significant amount of
heavy hydrocarbon discourages the use of physical solvent. Low CO2 partial pressures
and low outlet pressure of the product stream may favour application of chemical
solvents (Tennyson et al 1977). Process selection could prove difficult; a numbers of
variables must be weighed prior to making final process selection. Figure 19 can be used
as screening tools to make an initial selection of potential process choices.
3.2 Physical absorption processes
Physical solvent processes use organic solvents to physically absorb acid gas components
rather than react chemically. Removal of CO2 by physical absorption processes are base
on the solubility of CO2 within the solvents. The solubility of CO2 depends on the partial
pressure and on the temperature of the feed gas. Higher CO2 partial pressure and lower
temperature favors the solubility of CO2 in the solvents (Absorbent), at these conditions
complete removal of acid gas from natural gas is possible. Regeneration of the spent
solvent can be achieved by flashing to lower pressure or by stripping with vapour or inert
gas, while some is regenerated by flashing only and require no heat (Dimethyl ether of
Polyethylene Glycol). Selection of physical processes for the removal of CO2 from
natural gas for LNG project is favoured on the following conditions;
i. The partial pressure of the CO2 in the feed should be 50 psi or higher
ii. The concentration of heavy hydrocarbon in the feed should be low. That is the
gas feed is lean in C3+.
iii. Only bulk removal of acid gas is required.
iv. Selective removal of CO2 is required.
There are various physical processes for the removal of CO2 from natural gas but not all
the processes available are capable of removing CO2 to meet LNG specification of 50-
100 ppmv of 2.5% of CO2 in the product stream. The following physical processes will
be discussed base on their suitability/modification to treat acid gas with high or low
7
concentration of CO2 in the feed gas and small large scale processes will also be
considered.
The processes are as follows;
- Selexol process
- Rectisol process
- Fluor process
3.2.1 Selexol process
The selexol process uses union Carbide selexol solvent, a physical solvent made of
dimethyl ether of polyethylene glycol [CH3 (CH2CH2O) nCH3].Where n is between 3 to9
(Johnson and Homme, 1984).The solvent can be used to selectively or simultaneously
remove sulfur compounds, carbon dioxide, water as well as aromatic compound (BTEX)
Dehydration of the feed gas is required before entering the Selexol unit.
(Greene and Kutsher, 1965) report that initial runs on the dimethyl ether of tetra ethylene
glycol (DMTEG); shows that less expensive mixture of the dimethyl ether of
polyethylene glycol (DMPEG) ranging from diethylene glycol to hepta glycol was just as
effective as pure DMPEG in absorption of CO2.
3.2.1.1 Process description
A typical selexol flow unit is shown in figure 18. The dehydrated sour gas enters the
absorber and flow upward counter-currently to the lean solvent which is introduced at the
top of the absorber. The solvent enter the absorber slightly below ambient temperature
through the use of heat exchangers on flashed solvent and lean solvent streams. Because
of the high CO2 content in the feed gas, a bottom- pump- around of solvent is used on the
absorber and a two stage solvent introduction is employed. The leanest solvent is
introduced at the top of the absorber and the semi-lean or partially stripped solvent is
introduced in the mid-way of the absorber.The rich solvent leave the bottom of the
absorber and flashed in a high pressure separator the vapour stream is recycled back to
the absorber to reduce hydrocarbon losses.
8
The rich solvent from the high pressure separator is flashed in an intermediate pressure
separator to release a major portion of CO2 after passing through the rich solvent sour
gas exchanger. The low pressure flash stage which is at atmospheric pressure release the
major portion of the remaining dissolved CO2, a portion of semi-lean solvent stream from
the flash is pumped back to the intermediate point in the absorber for contacting the
richest part of the sour gas stream, while the other portion is flow to the stripper column
where it is air/N2 stripped to remove the last traces of acid gas present and then pumped
through semi-lean-lean solvent heat exchanger to the top of the absorber. The sweet gas
leaving the unit contain <= 2.5% CO2 per 100 Scf.
ADVANTAGE OF SELEXOL PROCESS

i. The heat rise of the solvent in the absorber is low since there is no heat of
chemical reaction.
ii. The sweet gas from the absorber comes out dry because of the high affinity of
selexol solvent with water.
iii. The initial plant and operating costs are minimal.
iv. Regeneration of the solvent is by air stripping, its required no re-boilers heat.
v. Selexol process allows for construction of mostly carbon steel due to its non-
aqueous and inert chemical characteristics.
vi. The process could be operated at low pressure.
DISADVANTAGES OF SELEXOL PROCESS

i. The solvent have high affinity to heavy hydrocarbon which will be removed with
CO2 and essentially result to hydrocarbon losses.
ii. The process is more efficient at high operating pressure.
9
3.2.2 Rectisol process
Rectisol process uses chilled methanol as a solvent, because of high vapour pressure of
methanol the process is normally operated at temperature range of -30 to -100oF. The
process is best suited where there are limited quantities of ethane and heavier components
(Weiss, 1988) .There are many possible processes configurations for Rectisol process
depending on process requirement/specifications and scalability. Rectisol process is now
extensively used in natural gas industry to remove CO2 (Knapp, 1968).
3.2.2.1 Process description of rectisol process
In this process the methanol solvent contacting the feed gas in the first stage of the
absorber is stripped in two stages of flashing via pressure reduction. The regenerated
solvent is virtually free of sulfur compounds but contains some CO2.
The acid gas leaving the first stage solvent regenerator is suitable for Claus plant. The
second stage of absorption then removes the remaining CO2 present.
The rich solvent from the bottom of the second stage of the absorber is stripped deeply in
a steam-heated regenerator and return to the top of the absorption column after cooling
and refrigeration.
ADVANTAGES OF RECTISOL PROCESS

i. The solvent (methanol) does not foam and completely miscible with water
thus reduces losses
ii. The have high thermal and chemical stability.
iii. Its non-corrosive.
iv. There are no degradation problems
v. The carbon steel can be widely used for the equipment.
vi. The rich solvent can be easily regenerated by flashing at low pressure
therefore eliminate the need for re-boilers heat.
10
DISADVANTAGES OF RECTISOL PROCESS

i. Chilled methanol solvent used is capable of absorbing metallic trace
components such as mercury (Hg) to form amalgams in the low temperature
of the process.
ii. Rectisol complex scheme and the need to refrigerate the solvent result in high
capital and operating cost of the plant.
3.2.3 Fluor process
The Fluor solvent process is one of the most attractive processes for gas treating when the
feed gas CO2 partial pressure is high (> 60 psia), or where the sour feed gas is primarily
CO2. The process is base on the physical solvent propylene carbonate (FLUORTM) for the
removal of CO2 .Propylene carbonate (C4H6O3), is a polar solvent with high affinity for
CO2 and ij values of C1 or C2 to CO2 are high, therefore hydrocarbon pickup in the rich
solvent and subsequent hydrocarbon losses in the CO2 vent stream are minimal.
The early FLUOR solvent process configurations were limited to treating a narrow range
of feed gas compositions, which is application, were limited to feed gas stream with low
C5+ hydrocarbon. Recently new configurations have been developed for treating;
A low to medium and high CO2 content sour gas
3.2.3.1 Process description for low medium CO2 content
For gas with CO2 partial pressure of about 60-120 psia and the feed gas is at 1000psig
and ambient temperature. The feed gas is first dried in a TEG contactor to remove almost
all the water, this prevent water buildup in the solvent. The dehydrated feed gas is then
cooled by cold treated gas from the absorber and further cooled by external refrigeration.
The cooling process minimizes the temperature rise in the bottom of the absorber cause
by heat of solution of CO2, which results in a close isothermal absorber temperature
profile. Also it aids the removal of heavy hydrocarbon, thus minimized co-absorption of
heavy hydrocarbon by solvent and reduces the recycle gas flow and hydrocarbon losses in
the CO2 vent. The near isothermal temperature profile of FLUOR process improves both
mass transfer and rich solvent CO2 loading. The rich solvent is regenerated by series of
11
flashes. The flash drums are stacked one on top of the other. The flash gases from the
high-pressure, medium and low-pressure flash drums are recycled back to the front end of
the plant via a recycle gas compressor. Flash gas recycle typically reduces hydrocarbon
losses to less than 0.5% of the feed gas. Losses can be reduced further with an increase in
recycle compression horsepower. Over 90% of the CO2 desorbed in the atmospheric flash
and residual CO2 is desorbed in a vacuum flash.
The lean solvent pump directs the lean solvent back to the absorber. In this scheme no
additional refrigeration is required other than that in the feed gas chilling section. The
balance of the cooling duty comes from desorption of CO2 from the rich solvent.
3.2.3.2 High CO2 content fluor solvent application
A FLUOR solvent process configuration for a high CO2 content feed gas is depicted in
figure 17. The feed gas pressure in this case varies from 400 1200 psig with the CO2
content varying from 30-70 % and more. High CO2 content in the feed gas increases the
amount of refrigeration produced by the flash regeneration of the rich solvent. At very
high CO2 partial pressures, the cooling effect from flash regeneration will exceed the
cooling required for CO2 absorption. Also the viscosity and surface tension of propylene
carbonate increases dramatically and the absorber mass transfer rate drops drastically.
This negatively impact the process, therefore overcooling of the solvent should be
avoided.
The excess refrigeration is harness in this application by lower the absorption column
temperature with refrigeration generated from flashing the rich solvent from high to
medium pressure. This allows the absorber to operate at a lower temperature and
increases the solvent loading. The flashed gasses are compressed and recycled to reduce
hydrocarbon losses in the CO2 vent. Excess refrigeration generated by flashing of the rich
solvent flowing to the first stage flash drum is used to cool and condense the CO2 vent
stream from the atmospheric and vacuum flashes. The condensed CO2 can be used for
EOR or disposed of by injecting the liquid into an underground formation.
12
ADVANTAGES OF FLUOR PROCESS
i. FLOUR process required no fired duty for solvent regeneration.

ii. The FLUOR solvent has high CO2 solubility and enhance CO2 loading.
iii. Its required no make up water.
iv. The operation is simple and a dry gas as out put product.
v. Since propylene carbonate freezes at -57 oF, winterization modification is
minimal.
vi. Modification for increasing CO2 in the feed is low.
DISADVANTAGES OF FLUOR PROCESS
i. Solvent circulation for the FLUOR solvent process is high.

ii. The FLUOR solvent is very expensive ( SPE 14057)
iii. The solvent have high affinity to heavy hydrocarbon which will be removed
with CO2 and essentially results to hydrocarbon losses.
3.3 Chemical absorption process
Chemical absorption processes are based on exothermic reaction of the solvent with the
gas stream to remove the CO2 present. Most chemical reaction are reversible, in this case
reactive material (solvent) removes CO2 in the contactor at high pressure and preferably
at low temperature. The reaction is then reversed by endothermic stripping process at
high temperature and low pressure. Chemical absorption processes are particularly
applicable where acid gas (CO2) partial pressure are low and for low level of acid gas
requirement in the residue gas. The water content of the solution minimizes heavy
hydrocarbon absorption, thus making the solvent more suitable for feed sour gas rich in
heavy hydrocarbon. Majorities of chemical solvent processes use either an amine or
carbonate solution.
13
3.3.1 Potassium carbonate process
Carbonate process uses potassium carbonate (K2CO3) to remove CO2 from natural gas. It
works best in a gas with CO2 partial pressure ranges between 30 90 psi.
The high pressure of natural gas transmission lines yields relatively high acid gas partial
pressure. As a results the hot potassium carbonate is now frequently use for the
economical sweetening of natural gases having medium to high acid gas contents.
The main reactions in this process are;
K 2 Co2 + Co 2 + H 2 o 2KHCo3 3.1
(Ruziska, 1973) proposed that the equation 3.1 above actually proceed in two stages. The
first step is the hydrolysis of potassium carbonate
K 2 Co 2 + H 2 o KOH + KHCo3 ..3.2
The second stage of the reaction involves the reaction of potassium hydroxide formed
during the hydrolysis process with CO2 to form potassium bicarbonate.
KOH + Co 2 + H 2 o KHCo3 3.3
The reaction with carbon dioxide gives two parts of potassium bicarbonate for each part
of potassium carbonate reacted. Therefore the concentration of the solution of the solvent
use (K2Co3) for CO2 removal is controlled by potassium bicarbonate solubility rather than
by potassium carbonate solubility.
3.3.2 Process description of carbonate process
For carbonate process the sour gas flows through a separator and to sour gas - sweet gas
heat exchanger. The heated sour gas enters the bottom of the absorber and flow counter-
currently with the descending lean hot potassium carbonate stream. The sweet gas exits
the top of the absorber and through a gas-gas exchanger. Typically the absorber is
operated at about 230 oF. The sour gas-sweet gas exchanger is use to recover sensible
heat and decrease the heat requirement for the system. The acid rich potassium carbonate
from the bottom of the absorber is flashed to remove some part of acid gas absorbed
while the remaining is stripped at low pressure (Patm) and high temperature at the stripper
which operate at approximately 245 oF.
14
The regenerated solvent from the bottom of the stripper is pumped back to the absorber
for re-use. The entire system is operated at high temperature to increase potassium
carbonate solubility, therefore a dead spot where the solution is likely to cool and
precipitate should be avoided, hence the system suffer from plugging, erosion or foaming.
ADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

Steam requirement for the system is low since absorber and stripper are operated
at nearly the same temperature (isothermal system)
Low cost of operation
Degradation of the solvent is minimal
It is a continuous circulating system employing an inexpensive chemical.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

Potassium carbonate causes general stress corrosion of the units
The solvent react with some corrosion inhibitors and cause erosion of the
unit
Tendency for foaming and solid suspension is high thus reduce C02
solvent loading
The regenerated solution leaving the stripper is at its saturated temperature
and partially vapourize in the pump suction, resulting in vibration and
excessive wear of the pump impellers
3.4 Membrane process
Polymer membranes systems are a commercially proven technology for natural gas
treating application. Membranes are being used more frequently in gas field operations in
removing carbon dioxide and water vapour to meet pipeline and LNG project
specification. For a gas to permeate through a membrane surface the gas must first
dissolve in the high-pressure side of the membrane, diffuse across the membrane wall,
and evaporate from the low-pressure side. Gas separation therefore works on the principle
15
that some gases are more soluble in, and pass more readily through polymeric membrane
than other gases.
Each particular gas species encounters a unique resistance to gas transport exhibit by a
specific membrane. This resistance is dependent on two factors; first, the size and shape
of the gas molecules, this control the diffusivity of the gas through the membrane and
secondly, the extent of the molecular interaction between membrane and the gas
characterizes the solubility of the gas molecule in the membrane.
The overall selectivity of the membrane process is dependent on the resistance in series
of the boundary layer, selective film and porous substructure. A gas encountering low
resistance to transport is called fast gas which selectively permeates through the
membrane, while gas with high resistance is called slow gas. In natural gas carbon
dioxide (CO2) species is said to be fast gas because of it linear molecular orientation and
high solubility in some polymeric membrane especially polysulfone membrane.
Membrane permeation is pressure driven process. The partial pressure difference between
the feed side and the permeate side has by far the greatest impact on the performance of a
membrane separator. The driving force for transportation through a membrane is the
difference in the partial pressure of the feed gas across the membrane. The greater the
partial pressure, the greater the driven force. This pressure difference influences the
membrane area required to achieve the desired separation at a given feed conditions.
Another important process criteria is the ratio of feed pressure over permeate pressure,
this has to be established in accordance to the membrane selectivity in order to achieve an
efficient separation. The permeance through a gas separation membrane is given by the
equation below;
v = kAM ( Pi , H Pi , L ) ................................................................................................ 3.4.1
Where;
V = volume of permeate gas, [std m3/h]
In case of high-pressure application the difference in partial pressure of the compound
have to be substituted by the fugacity
v = kAM ( i , H y i , H PH i , L y i , L PL ) .3.4.2
16
3.4.1 Process description
In membrane process feed gas is normally pre-treated/conditioned before entering the

membrane system to ensure efficient operation. The pre-treatment equipment varies
depending on the feed gas composition and conditions. Generally for natural gas the feed
gas is filtered through a high coalescing filter for removal of entrained particulates or
aerosols including sand, pipe scale. The feed gas is cooled in a cooler. Any condensed
liquids are removed in the gas/liquid separator and flashed back to the inlet compressor
third stage discharge scrubber. After liquid removal, the feed gas enters the feed pre-
heater; triethylene glycol is sometime used as a heat medium to increase the gas
temperature. The temperature control is provided to maintain the gas at the desired
operating temperature of the membrane fibres. The heated gas then enters the membrane
gas separators where it is separated into two streams; the permeate or CO2 product a-low
pressure, CO2-rich stream and the non-permeate or residue, a high pressure hydrocarbon-
rich stream.
ADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

Membrane has good weight and space efficiency, which make it more
applicable off shore environment
Its has high adaptability to variation of CO2 content in the feed gas
Periodical removal and handling of spent solvent or adsorbent make the
system more environmental friendly
Membrane has limited / No moving parts thus make the process more risky to
operate.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

Separated CO2 is at low pressure and requires additional compression to meet
pipeline pressure requirement
Compression of the feed gas is necessary to provide the driving force for
permeation, the energy required for compression is high especially is high
pressure is require thus contributing to the cost of operation.
The hydrocarbon loss is high.
17
3.5 Adsorption process
Adsorption process involves the absorption of acid gas components by solid adsorbent.
The removal processes is either by chemical reaction or by ionic bonding of solid
particles with the acid gas. Commonly use adsorption processes are; the iron oxide, Zinc
oxide and molecular sieve (Zeolite) process. The adsorbent is generally characterized by
a micro-porous structure which selectively retains the components to be separated, once
the bed is saturated with the acid gas the vessel is removed from the system for
regeneration by flowing hot sweet gas through the bed. Among the adsorption processes
mention above only the molecular sieve is more suitable for removal of small
concentration of CO2 from natural gas.
The sieve makes use of the synthetically solid crystalline Zeolite to remove the gas
impurities. The crystal structure creates a large number of localized polar charges called
active site. The polar gas molecule such as H2S and H2O form weak ionic bond at the
active site. Non-polar molecules such as hydrocarbon will not bond at the active site.
Though carbon dioxide molecules are non-polar and will not bond to the active site, but
due to CO2 linear structure, small concentration of CO2 will be trapped in the pores. The
process is therefore more applicable for feed gas with low concentration of CO2.
ADVANTAGES OF ADSORPTION PROCESS

Molecular sieve bed does not suffer any mechanical degradation
The operation of the process is simple.
Simultaneous dehydration of the gas and acid removal is possible.
DISADVANTAGES
The process is limited to small gas stream operating at moderate pressure.
Its is unsuitable for continuous circulation due to attrition
The design of the process is complex
18
3.6 Cryogenic process
Low temperature distillation (Cryogenic separation) is a commercial process

commonly use to liquefy and purify carbon dioxide from relatively high purity
(>90%) sources. It involves cooling the gases to a very low temperature (lower
than -73.3 oC) so that the carbon dioxide can freeze-out / liquefied and separated.
ADVANTAGES
Suitable for feed gas with high concentration of CO2
It produces a liquid CO2 ready for transportation by pipeline.
DISADVANTAGES
The energy for regeneration is very high which increase the operating cost.
Tendency for blockage of process equipment is high.
Some cryogenic fluids are flammable and toxic such as (acetylene, ethane)
3.7 Hybrid separation processes
The hybrid separation processes combines the properties of physical and chemical solvent
for effective and selective removal of acid gas from natural gas. One of the well
acclaimed successful hybrid separation process uses in the oil and gas industry is Sulfinol
process licensed by shell E&P. Sulfinol is a mixture of sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene1-1
dioxide a physical solvent), water and either diisopropanolamine (DIPA) or
Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) (both chemical solvent). The dual functionality and
capacity of physical and chemical solvents mixture of sulfinol make the solvent more
efficient. The physical solvent for instance provides the system for bulk removal of acid
gas and also allows much greater solution loading of acid gas than most pure base
solvents. Typically, a sulfinol solution of 40% sulfolane, 40% DIPA and 20% water can
remove 1.5 moles of acid gas per mole of sulfinol solution (Ken Arnold, 1999). The
technology can be use to remove H2S, CO2, COS, CS2 Mercaptans etc. For complete
removal of CO2 from natural gas sulfinol-M is (a combination of sulfinol with MDEA).
19
ADVANTAGES
Low energy requirement
Low foaming and non-corrosive nature of the solvent
High acid gas loading
DISADVANTAGES
Higher co-absorption of heavy hydrocarbon
A reclaimer is required to remove the oxazolidones produced in a side reaction of
DIPA with CO2
20
4 WATER CONTENT OF NATURAL GAS
Water vapour may be present in natural gas due to natural occurrence in the well
production stream, the storage of the gas in the underground reservoir, transmission or
distribution through moisture containing lines. The saturated water content of a gas
depends on pressure, temperature, and composition. The effect of composition increases
with pressure and is particularly more important when the gas contain appreciable
amount of carbon dioxide (acid gas), since carbon dioxide have high affinity for water.
However at pressure less than 31 bara the saturation water content of acid gas decreases
with increase in pressure and independent of composition (Carroll et. al, 1999). Beyond
this pressure the formation of liquid phase increase the ability of gas to hold water.
Correction can be made to account for the composition of the gas and the salinity of the
water. Figure 26 shows the water content at saturation point of nitrogen-free natural gases
as a function of pressure and temperature. Dissolved salts reduce the partial pressure of
water in the vapour phase, thus reduce the water content of the gas. Figure 26 provide
means for salinity correction (After Katz, 1962). The water content of natural gas can be
measured using three different methods (Rejoy et al., 1994).
1. by observation of the dew point
2. by water retention on an adsorbent
3. by absorption in liquid
Determination of saturated water content of acid gas is essential to estimate the operating
conditions of gas treating process in order to stay within non-hydrate formation zone. In
this the project it is essential to estimate the saturate water content in order to fully define
the compositions of the feed gas stream into the CO2 removal plant. There are many
correlations to define saturated water content of natural gas; the following correlations
are use in this project;
By using GPSA Correlation Chart
By using HYSYS Simulator
21
4.1 Water content determination using GPSA chart
(Mcketta et al., 1958), proposed a correlation to estimate the water content of natural gas
base on some experimental data available. Figure 26 shows a chart of water content in mg
per standard m3of gas at standard condition [15 oC & 101.325 kpa] and temperature at
different pressure rage with salinity and density correction. Once the natural gas pressure
and temperature is known the corresponding water content of the gas can be read off from
the chart. Determination of water content at different pressure range (100 1500 kpa) and
temperature range of -40oC 80oC is estimated and shown in table 4.
4.2 Water content determination using hysys program
A simple flow sheet was made with the use of HYSYS program. The sheet shows a
stream of gas with no water content going into the mixer along with pure water stream.
The amount of water is high enough to saturate the gas, and to be still present as liquid in
the pipe (figure 25). Therefore a stream of saturated gas with significant amount of free
water above the saturation point is created in the mixer and flows to a two phase
separator the water content above the saturation level is taken away as liquid from the
bottom part of the separator. The sat gas which is saturated with water is taken from the
top of the separator as vapour. The temperature and pressure of saturated gas are inserted
and on this basis HYSYS calculates the water content of the saturated gas. Hence the
water content in [mg/m3] of gas at the set condition can be checked.
HYSYS application does not provide possibility to estimate water content of natural gas
at standard condition. Therefore to achieve this, excel sheet to calculate the mass of water
content in 1 m3 of gas (kg) was prepared within HYSYS environment and link with MS
excel to convert it to standard condition using Clapeyron equation. Correction for acid
gas content of the natural gas was also taken care of using Wichert and Aziz (1992)
correlation, and the compressibility factor using Hall and Yarborough correlation. Detail
of the calculation procedure is shown in appendix B.
22
4.3 Comparison of water content results
Tables 10 and 11 shows the water content estimated from GPSA chart and HYSYS
program at different pressure and temperature. A statistical correlation analysis was
estimated to ascertain the degree of match between the two methods. The Results from
GPSA chart was considered to be the standard values. From the statistical correlation it
was observed that there is a strong correlation between the two methods. Correlation of
0.999976 and 0.999807 was estimated at pressure of 100 and 500 kpa respectively.
However at temperature of -40 oC and pressure of 100 and 1500 kpa, the percentage
difference estimated was about 25% and 31% respectively, these differences may be due
to difference in gas composition use to estimate water content in HYSYS and that from
GPSA chart.
23
5 HYSYS PROCESS SIMULATION PACKAGE
HyproTech HYSYS 3.2 is powerful software for steady and dynamics state simulation
processes. It includes tools for estimation of physical properties and liquid-vapour phase
equilibrium, heat and material balances, design, optimization of oil and gas processes and
process equipment. The program is built upon proven technologies, with more than two
decades of supplying of process simulation tools to the oil and gas industry. HYSYS is an
interactive and flexible process modeling software which allows the engineers to design,
monitoring, troubleshooting; perform process operational improvement and asset
management. Therefore enhance productivity, reliability, decision making and
profitability of the plant life cycle.
In HYSYS, all necessary information pertaining to pure components flash and physical
properties calculations is contained in the fluid package, choosing the right fluid package
For a given component is essential. Proper selection of thermodynamic models during
process simulation is also absolutely necessary as a starting point for accurate process
modeling. A process that is otherwise fully optimized in terms of equipment selection,
configuration, and operation can be rendered worthless if the process simulation is based
on inaccurate fluid package and thermodynamics models. For amine process simulation,
amine fluid package and Kent-Eisenberg thermodynamics and non-ideal vapour phase
models was found to be more accurate and applicable (Aspen Tech 2003).
Once the fluid package and the thermodynamics model equation are selected, it is now
possible to enter the simulation environment where the detail process flow diagram of a
given plant can be constructed. In HYSYS stream to stream connection is difficult some
fictitious units (such as Mixer and Splitters) to produce a satisfactory model is used,
though this have little or no effect on the accuracy or optimization results of the process
under investigation. Simulation of the built process flow diagram is achieved by
supplying some important physical, thermodynamics and transport data of the stream and
equipment involves, this is done until all the units and the streams are solved and
converged.
24
HYSYS require minimal input data from the user, the most important input parameters
needed for streams to solve are the Temperature, pressure and flow rate of the stream.
HYSYS offers an assortment of utilities which can be attached to process stream and unit
operations. The tools interact with the process and provide additional information. For
instance the flowsheet within the HYSYS simulation environment can be manipulated by
the user to estimate desired out put.
25
6 AMINE BASE PROCESS FACILITIES
The alkanolamines are the most generally accepted and widely used of the various
available solvents for removal of CO2 from natural gas stream (Bottom, 1930) Their
reactivity and availability at low cost especially Monoethanolamine (MDEA), and
Diethanolamone (DEA), have made the solvent achieved a pinnacle position in the gas
processing industry. The principle of absorption of CO2 by amine solvents is governed by
the following equations;
For instance the reaction of MEA with CO2 is;
Formation of carbonate bicarbonate:

2 RNH 2 + H 2 O + CO2 ( RNH 3 ) 2 CO3 6.1
( RNH 3 ) 2 CO3 + H 2 O + CO2 2 RNH 3 HCO3 6.2
Formation of carbamate:
2 RNH 2 + CO2 RNHCOONH 3 R 6.3
The reactions shown above proceed to the right at low temperature and to the left at a
higher temperature, thus making CO2 to be absorbed at ambient temperature. At elevated
temperature (as obtained in the stripper column) the reaction is reversed that is backward
reaction is favoured where the carbonate salt formed is decomposed to released the acid
gas absorbed, therefore stringent control of stripper column temperature should be
adopted to reduce the release of carbonate salt. Reaction (6.1) and (6.2) are slow reaction
because carbon dioxide must form carbonic acid with water (slow reaction) before
reacting with amine. Reaction 6.3 which predominate when MEA is involved is relatively
fast, and that is why elimination of selectivity of hydrogen sulfide is impossible.
Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) are today the most tertiary
amines for acid gas removal (Rejoy et.al., 1997). Other amine solutions that can be used
are diglycoamine, diisopropanaolamine and methyldiethanolamine
26
Monoethanolamine (MEA); the concentration of MEA in solution is usually about 10-

15% by weight. MEA is very reactive and can absorbed CO2 and H2S simultaneously.
MEA however react with COS, CS2 and mercaptans. Its relatively high vapour pressure
Cause greater losses compared with other amine. For this reason it is use for intensive
purification, with fairly low H2S concentrations for a gas containing no COS or CS2.
Diethanolamine (DEA) helps to overcome the limitation of MEA, and can be use in the
present of COS and CS2. The application of DEA to natural gas processing was described
by Berthier in 1959 (Kohl and Riesenfeld, 1985). Operating with solutions containing 25-
30% by weight of DEA can be use to process Natural gas with even High acid gases
contents.
Diglycolamine (DGA) exhibit similar properties with monoethanolamine, but is less

volatile, and therefore be use in much higher concentration (40 60%). This helps to
reduce the circulation rate, thus increase the economics of the process.
Diisopropanolamine (DIPA) is used, in relatively high concentration from (30 40%)

by the Adip Process (Shell International Petroleum Company) (Klein, 1970). This
solution is mostly use in processing of refinery gas or liquid with high COS.
Methylethanolamine (MDEA) allows the selective absorption of H2S in the presence of

CO2, but can be use effectively to remove CO2 from natural gas in present of additives
(Meisner and wager, 1983).The reaction between CO2 and MDEA solution is presented
as follow;
CO2 + MDEA + H 2 O HCO3 + MDEA + .6.4
The normal range of acid gas pickup, mol/ mol of amine (MDEA) is from 0.2 0.55
(Perry, 1974).
Amine solutions are basic, and hence non-corrosive. They are sometime use as corrosion
inhibitors. In the presence of acid gases, significant corrosion may occur at points where
the concentration and temperature of acid gas is high. The primary amines are the most
27
corrosive. Therefore the application of primary solution requires the use of corrosion
inhibitors and the unit may be made of special steels (DuPart et al., 1993). Foaming is a
frequent problem in these installations due the following;
Suspended solids
Condensed hydrocarbon
Amine-degradation products.
Foreign matter from corrosion inhibitors.
The foaming tendency in these installations can be prevented by good design and
operation; also anti-foaming agents can be used (Kohl and Riesenfeld, 1985). Filtration of
the solvent recycled to the absorber step is essentially important. Filter that retain particle
sizes lager than 10m is recommended (Pauley et al., 1989). Degradation of amine
solvents occur when get in contact with the air or oxygen, and the oxidation products
often cause corrosion. Oxidation can be reduced by placing the amine solutions under an
inert gas blanket in the storage tanks.
6.1 Process description
The general process flow diagram of an amine CO2 removal process is shown in figure
16. The sour gas enters the plant through a separator to remove any free liquid or
entrainment solids. The sour gas leaves the top of the scrubber and enters the bottom of
the absorber in countercurrent contact with aqueous lean amine solution. Sweet gas
leaves the top of the absorber and flow to a dehydration unit before being considered
ready for liquefaction. Lean amine flow downward counter currently to the sour gas and
absorbed the CO2 constituent and become rich solution. The rich solvent from the bottom
of the absorber is flashed in a separator to recover some absorbed hydrocarbon in the rich
solvent and then pass through amine-amine heat exchanger to the stripper where the acid
gas absorbed is stripped off at a very high temperature and low pressure. The acid gas
then leaves the top of the stripper column. The lean amine from the bottom of the reboiler
attached to the stripper flow through amine-amine heat exchanger and through a water air
cooler before being introduced back to the top of the absorber.
28
The amine-amine heat exchanger serves as a heat conservation device. A part of absorbed
acid gas is flashed from the heated rich solution on the top tray of the stripper. The
reminder of the rich solution flows downward through the stripper in countercurrent
contact with vapour generated in the reboiler; which strips the acid gas from the rich
solution. The stripper overhead products (acid gas and steam) pass through a condenser
where the steam is condensed and cooled and returned to the top of the stripper as a
reflux, while the acid gas is separated in a separator and sent to the flare or compressed
for sequestration process.
6.2 Justification of amine process
Amine base solvent (DEA) was chosen in this project to establish the operating
conditions at which the CO2 removal process from the natural gas can be operated to
meet the LNG specifications and to minimized emission to the environment. The process
justification was based on the following conditions;
The CO2 concentration of the feed gas to be treated is relatively low (5.23%) with
high hydrocarbon contents, the amine process is considered more suitable
(Tennyson et al, 1977).
The solvent apply (DEA) is considered to be chemically stable; DEA can be
heated to its normal boiling point (269 oC at 760mmHg) before decomposition.
Therefore reduce the solvent degradation during stripping and reduce solvent loss
and accumulation in the units.
The heat of reaction of DEA with CO2 is low compared to other amines as shown
in table 12 (Kensell, 1979) the heat generated in the absorber is low which
increase the solvent loading capacity in the absorber. Since solubility/loading of
CO2 increases at low temperature.
The CO2 recovery rates from amine base solvent can be as high as 98% and purity
can be in excess of 99%. Amine base solvent process is more efficient for acid gas
available at high or low partial pressure and with low or relatively high partial
pressure acid gas product figure 19
29
6.3 Economic factors in operating gas treating process
The circulation rate is the single most important factor in the economics of gas treating
with chemical solvents. Solvent circulation rate influenced the size of pumps, lines, heat
exchangers and regeneration tower, thus has a large effect on the capital cost of gas
treating plants. Circulation also influenced the energy requirement for solvent
regeneration because the reboiler heat duty is associated directly with liquid rate. Other
factors that play and important role in gas treating economics include solution
corrositivity, which determine the material of construction particularly in the flash and
regenerator because of high temperature and acidity.
Economic operation of CO2 removal process can be achieved by taken advantage of a

strong correlation between the solvent working capacity and solvent circulation rate. The
solvent circulation rate can be reduced by increasing the working capacity; this is done by
increasing the solvent (DEA) concentration in solution and allows the acid gas loading in
solution to rise above the traditional level. Though working capacity may be limited by
corrosion. In most favourable case, solvent circulation rate is reduced by over 50%
relative to the traditional process, leading to reduction of investment cost by nearly 50%
and fuel cost by over 65%.
6.4 Process cost analysis.
Estimates of the cost of equipment and other cost related to the capital investment play a
crucial role in selecting among the design alternatives. Capital cost estimates, combined
with process operating cost and other expenses are vital factors that need to be given full
consideration since the profitability of a proposed venture or existing units depend on
these factors. The detail cost analysis of different processes available will not be
discussed in this project. However, comparison of two CO2 process in terms of total
install cost and operating cost will be highlighted briefly. The processes under
consideration are the Amine base chemical absorption process using promoted MDEA
and a physical base absorption process using fluor solvent ( Fluor process).
30
Comparison between these two processes will be based on how feed gas composition,
pressure, temperature, flow and the sales gas specification affect the total installation
capital, and the operating costs.
The capital cost comprises of investment in fixed facilities or equipment. For promoted
MDEA process the units includes an absorber, a flash drum, a lean/rich exchanger, an
amine regenerator, a reboiler, an amine regenerator overhead condenser a lean solvent
cooler and pump. See figure 16. While the Fluor solvent process unit configuration
shown in figure 17 Shows the units to comprise of a TEG dehydration unit, an inlet
exchanger, refrigeration cooler, a absorber, and several flash regenerations stages, with
the last flash stage operating under vacuum. The relative cost of Fluor solvent and
promoted MDEA process is shown in figure 23 taken MDEA process to have a base
value of 100 (Mak et al, 2003). The total installation cost for Fluor solvent have about
21% less than that of promoted MDEA process.
The operating cost for the two processes can be analyzed by considering the following
factors;
Solvent circulation; the MDEA solvent is assumed to have higher acid gas pick up
per gallon of rich solvent than the Fluor solvent. The solvent circulation rate in
promoted MDEA is therefore lower; hence reduce the cost on solvent circulation.
Fluor solvent is assumed to have solvent circulation cost of about 9% higher than
that of promoted MDEA process.
Heat duty; the Flour solvent process does not require an external heat source for
solvent regeneration. However, the process uses a small amount of waste heat
energy from power generation to regenerate the TEG use to dry the feed gas. The
TEG regeneration duty is about 1% of the promoted MDEA process heat duty.
Air cooler; the process cooling required by the Fluor solvent process is for the
refrigeration condenser and the recycle compressor after cooler. The cooling
required by the amine process is for the amine regenerator overhead condenser
and the lean amine cooler. The required cooling duty for the Fluor solvent process
is about 11% of the amine process cooling duty.
31
Power; the primary power consumers in the Fluor solvent process is the solvent
circulation pumps, the refrigeration units, the recycle gas compressor, the vacuum
pump and the air coolers. In the amine process unit the power consumption of
lean amine air cooler, the amine regenerator overhead condenser, and the lean
amine pumps is slightly higher than the power demand of Fluor solvent process.
The Fluor solvent requires about 3% less than promoted MDEA process. See
figure 24.
For a given economic analysis, chosen a process with low initial installation cost might
not be the best option, since the operating cost for such process may be high thus making
breaking even unattainable. Therefore careful cost analysis using all the available data
and figures is essential when making any proposal.
32
7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The removal of CO2 from natural gas process is comprised of operations required to
provide clean, pipeline quality gas and, LNG feed gas. These operations in return produce
some wastes that must be managed in accordance with the applicable environmental
regulatory agency, to ensure operations with less impact to the environment.
Emissions associated with CO2 removal process includes; VOCs (volatile Organic
compounds), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
particulates, ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), metals, spent solvents, and
numerous toxic organic compounds .These pollutants may be discharged as air emissions,
waste water, or solid waste. All of these wastes are treated. However, air emissions are
more difficult to capture than waste water or solid waste. Thus, air emissions are the
largest source of untreated wastes released to the environment.
Air emissions include point and non-point sources. Point sources are emissions that exit
stacks and flares which can be monitored and treated. Non-point Sources are "fugitive
emissions which are difficult to locate and capture. Fugitive emissions occur through
valves, pumps, tanks, pressure relief valves, flanges, etc. Generally, Identification and
characterization wastes generated can be organized into three major categories (Myerski
et al, 1993);
Intrinsic wastes that are derived from the natural gas stream and are generated
at facilities that receive and handle natural gas from production well head to
storage field.
Treatment/Processing wastes that are generated from equipment or unit
operations required to treat process and transport natural gas.
Maintenance wastes resulting from maintaining facility equipment in clean
working order
Table 1 below shows the summary of wastes generated from different CO2 removal
process units.
33
Table 1: Wastes Types Generated in Different CO2 Removal Process units
Types of Contaminants/Chemical released to the Environment

Intrinsic Treatments/Processing Maintenance
Physical Absorption Processes
Organic peroxide, CO2, NOX, VOC
Selexol
CO2, COS,VOC, H2S Mercury Amalgam, CO2, NOX, Sludges, Waste Solvents /
Rectisol VOC Degreasers c
Fluor CO2, NOX, VOC.

Chemical Absorption Processes
BTEX, HEI, HEED,OX, Carbamate.a Sludges, Waste Solvents /
Amine Base CO2, NOx, SOx, VOC. Degreasers, corrosion
Inhibitors wastes
Ammonium Oxalate, NOX, VOC, Sludges, Waste Solvents /
Carbonate Base COS , CS2, NOx, VOC, BTEX Degreasers, corrosion
Inhibitors wastes
Hybrid Processes
Sulfinol Mercaptans,CS2, COS BTEX, VOC b Waste Hazardous DIPA
Cryogenic Processes
Waste water, Toxic
Cooling/Distillation CO2, CS2, COS, SOX Acetylene, absorbed C2 Cryogenic fluids
(acetylene)
Adsorption Processes
Degraded/Spent Zeolite
Molecular sieve CO2, CS2, COS, SOX CO2, CS2, COS, SOX
Membrane Separation CO2, CS2, COS, SOX CO2, CS2, COS, SOX Degraded/Spent Fibers
(a) Information derived from (Sorensen et al, 1999).

(b) Information derived from (Mustard et al, 2000).
(c) Information derived from (John et al, 1995).
However, in this project the wastes/emissions identified above can be eliminated by

establishing optimum operating conditions that will improve process environmental
performance. This involves modification of process operating parameters (Temperature,
Pressure and Solvent circulation rate) to reduce the amount or toxicity of wastes that are
generated. For instance the absorber is set to operate at low Temperature and high
pressure to increase acid gas loading by the solvent and regeneration of the solvent was
34
carried out in the stripper at low pressure and high temperature (within solvent stability
temperature to avoid solvent degradation and loss as a vapour with the acid gas).
Operating at optimum conditions ensure low hydrocarbon and chemical (Solvents) losses,
thus reduces waste accumulated in the process units and emission to the environment.
Detail of the analysis is presented in chapter 8.
35
8 HYSYS SIMULATION OF AMINE PROCESS
8.1 Description of process equipment
Most often, amine unit operating problems can be traced to contaminants brought in with
the gas from the pipeline. Pipeline contaminants can be in the form of down-hole
corrosion inhibitors or other treating chemicals, liquid slugs caused by pipeline volume
surges or line pigging, well workover fluids sent to the pipeline, and compressor
lubricating oils. These contaminants are prevented from getting into the units by slug
catcher. For the CO2 removal units the following is a brief description of the major
equipment necessary for successful simulation of amine unit to meet the LNG
specifications and to operate environmental acceptable units. Here fictitious units such as
mixer will not be discussed.
a. HP INLET SEPARATOR; The function of the inlet separator is to remove the

entrained liquid amine carried over with the gas from the pipeline/slug catcher before
getting to the absorber. Vertical separator is uses to effectively handle some anticipated
liquid slugs. It also limits liquid re-vaporization (Ikoku, 1980).
b. DEA CONTACTOR; The contactor allows counter-current flow of lean amine from
the top and sour gas from the bottom. Here the amine solvent absorbed CO2 and rich
amine is flow to the bottom while the sweet gas is collected at the top for further
processing.
c. THROTTLING VALVE; The valve is used to expand the rich amine coming from
the high pressure contactor. This is done by lowering gas the pressure before entering the
flash tank.
d. FLASH TANK; The gas from the throttling valve is flashed to remove the
hydrocarbons components carried along with the rich amine, this unit serves as a
recovery unit for hydrocarbons. Horizontal flash tank is used to prevent foaming. (Ikoku,
1980) The flashed overhead product can be used as fuel gas.
e. AMINE-AMINE HEAT EXCHANGER; The rich/lean exchanger is a heat

conservation device where hot lean solvent preheats cooler rich solvent. In this project
36
Shell-and-tube TEMA type E exchanger is used in the simulation. The shell and tube side
pressure drop is set to 70 kpa and heat loss/leak is assumed zero. The heat exchanger
helps to raise the rich amine solvent temperature before entering the stripper. Thus reduce
re-boiler work load.
f. AMINE STILL; Depending upon the solvent type, this is normally a 20-tray or
equivalent packed tower. Here 18- trays were sufficient to strip the CO2 from the rich
solvent. Physical solvents can require fewer trays. Trays diameter is about 4m with 0.5
spacing. Liquid and jet floods in the 65-75% range with a 75% foam factor. It is assumed
that the trays in the upper third, be stainless steel due to the corrosivity of the
environment.
g. AMINE COOLER, REFLUX CONDENSER; Air-cooled, forced draft with

automatic louvers for temperature control. Cold climate service may require air-
recirculation and/or preheat media on fans/coils. Condenser tubes should be made of
stainless steel, as this is a wet, acid gas environment and sloped to the outlet side.
h. REFLUX ACCUMULATOR: This vessel separates the reflux water and water-
saturated acid gases. The water is pumped back to the still and the acid gases are directed
to vent, incinerator, or sulfur recovery unit. A reflux accumulator with a 4 to 8 thick
mist pad is used.
i. SOLVENT REBOILER: This is either a direct-fired fire tube type or cabin heater, or
indirect hot oil or steam heated unit. Typically heat flux rate should be kept in the 7500 to
10,000 Btu/hr/ft2 range to assure no surface burning of the solvent. This exchanger
provides the steam necessary to heat and strip the solvent back to a lean condition.
j. COOLER; The lean amine solvent from the re-boiler through amine-amine heat
exchanger is further cool here before entering the absorber again, since absorbers operate
more efficiently at relatively low temperature. The pressure drop across the cooler is
about 35 kpa with corresponding duty of 1.097 E+7 kJ/h.
k. PUMPS: The reflux and booster centrifugal pump is installed to maintain the recycle
lean solvent at the desired operating pressure of the absorber. The main circulation pump
choice depends upon contactor operating pressure and solvent flow rates. Centrifugal
pump considered in this project is set to 75% adiabatic efficiency for low head cases and
37
large volume, high head cases which is specifically design for amine service and have
non-lubricated packing/system seal with ceramic or hard coated fluid parts.
8.2 Hysys simulation procedures
A base case was established using the following steps; the first step is to select the
appropriate fluid package; here amine fluid package and Kent-Eisernberg model is
selected as in figure1 below;
Figure 1 Fluid Package Basis (Amine fluid Package)
The component selection window is open by selecting view in the component-list show
in fig 1. Figure 2 shows dialog window is use for components selection
Figure 2 Component selection windows.
38
After selecting the component of the fluid, one can now enter the simulation environment
where the process flow diagram (PFD) is built. Amine PFD simulation environment is
shown in figure 3 below;
Figure 3 Un-simulated Amine Process Flow Diagrams
The simulation of the process begins with the simulation of the feed sour gas stream by
specifying the gas temperature, pressure and flow rate (Blue colour) and HYSYS
calculate the remaining parameters (Black colour) as shown in figure 4 below;
Figure 4 Sour Gas specification windows
39
Other streams specifications made are; the regenerated feed out of the amine-amine heat
exchanger temperature to control the exchanger ft factor, DEA to Contactor temperature
pressure and flow rate, make up water temperature and DEA to recycle temperature. With
these specifications made, HYSYS make use of its flexibility of calculating forward and
backward to completely simulate the process. One of the rigorous tasks is the
convergence of the absorber and the regenerator, to converge the absorber the absorber
top and bottom temperature and pressure was specified and run, figure 5.
While the regenerator is converged by specifying the condenser and re-boiler pressure,
the reflux ratio and the vent rate, the column is then run, figure 6.
Figure 5 Converged window of the Absorber
40
Figure 6 Converged windows for regenerator unit
With the convergence of the absorber and the regenerator units a complete amine
simulation for the base case was established as shown in figure 7.Optimization of the
process was carried out by modification of some parameters to meet the project aims.
Detail parameters for the base case and modified parameters are shown in tables of data.
Figure 7 Complete Simulations Unit.
41
9 SIMULATION RESULTS/DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
9.1 Simulation results
Detail simulation results are shown in the lists of tables and chart in page 48
9.2 Discussion of results
The simulation objectives are to meet the LNG specifications of about 50 100
ppmv or 2- 3 % CO2 concentration in the product stream, and then establish
optimum conditions to reduce CO2 emission and chemical loss. From table 5 the
% composition of CO2 of the feed gas is about 5.6% which is above LNG CO2
specifications of 2 3 % as shown in table 7
Figure 8 shows the treatment of feed sour gas with different amine concentrations
and the observed % mole concentration of CO2 in the sweet gas. It was observed
that as the concentration of amine increases, the % mole concentration of CO2 in
the sweet gas decreases. This is attributed to the increase in Amine solvent
capacity with increase in concentration of amine in the solution. The
specifications ranges were reached at 20 wt% DEAmine and above.
Table 2 shows that for a given partial pressure of CO2 in the feed gas the amine
loading increase with increasing amine wt% in the solution. With 25 wt%
DEAmine the loading [molCO2/molDEA] ranges from 0.6 0.64 figure 11, for 30
wt% the loading ranges from 0.535 0.56 figure 12, with 35 wt% the increase
loading capacity ranges from 0.465 0.49 figure 13, and the loading was
observed to decrease with increase temperature at a given CO2 partial pressure.
The % mole of CO2 in the sweet gas increases with contactor (Absorber)
operating temperature and decrease with pressure figure 9. While the hydrocarbon
(C1) co-absorbed with the CO2 in the solvent increases with pressure and decrease
with increase in temperature. This is due to decrease in amine loading capacity as
its viscosity decrease with temperature
42
Figure 14 illustrates the effect of lean amine circulation rate on amine loading
capacity. The loading capacity decreases with increase in circulation rate, figure
15 and tables 3 and 4 shows that the CO2 emission/present in the sweet gas and
amine loss with the acid gas increases with solvent circulation rate.
43
10 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the literature reviewed and the results from the simulation model the following
conclusions can be made:
The loading capacity of the amine solvent should be increased appropriately to
increase acid gas (CO2) loading in the solvent.
The CO2 emission and chemical loss is directly proportional to the amine
circulation rate. Therefore the lean amine circulation rate should be minimized
and at minimum possible temperature to minimize solvent evaporation rate and
thus increase its loading capacity.
Absorber should be operated at High possible pressure and low Temperature to
enhance amine loading capacity; therefore minimize CO2 emission and chemical
loss.
The amine solvent residence time in the stripper should be minimized to reduce its
degradation tendency.
The stripper operating pressure should be nearly or at atmospheric pressure, while
the reboiler temperature should be within the solvent stability conditions, for
DEAamine the reboiler temperature range of about 110 121 oC is appropriate.
44
NOMENCLATURE
BTEX: Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl benzene, Xylene

DEA: Diethanolamine
DGA: Diglycolamine
DIPPA: Diisopropanolamine
EOR: Enhanced Oil Recovery
GPSA: Gas Processors Suppliers Association
HEED: N-hydroxylethyl-1, 2-ethylenediamine
HEI: N-hydroxylethy imidazolidone
LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas
MDEA: Methyldiethanolamine
MEA: Monoethanolamine
NOx: Nitrogen Dioxide
OX: 2-oxazolidinone
Ppmv: Part Per Million Volume
Sox: Sulfur Dioxide
TEA: Triethanolamine
TEG: Triethylene Glycol
TEMA: Tubular Exchanger Manufacturer Association.
VOC: Volatile Organic Components
PiL: Low Pressure
PiH: High Pressure
ij: Activity Series
: Fugacity
k: Permeance Constant
Hg: Mercury
45
REFERENCES
1. Bottom, R. R., U.S patent, 1,783, 901, 1930

2. Carroll, John, J., Maddocks, James, R., "Design Considerations for Acid Gas Injection,
Laurence Reid Gas Conditioning Conference, 1999
3. Cornot-Gandolphe, S., Chabrelie, M.F., Natural Gas in the World 1995 Survey,
Centre Gazeux (Cedigaz), Rueil-Malmaison, FRA, July, 140p 1995.
International dInformation Sur le Gaz Natural et tous les Hydrocarbures
4. David, C., Kellogg, B., and Pankaj, S., LNG A Proven Stranded Gas Monetization
Option SPE Paper (84252), Pg 3, 2003
5. DuPart, M. S., Bacon, T. R., Edwards, D. J.,Part 1.Understanding Corrosion in
Alkanolamine gas Treating Plants, Hydrocarbon Process., 72, No. 4 April, p. 75 80,
1993.
6. Engineering Data Book, SI Version Vol II, Section 16-26, Published by Gas Processors
Suppliers Association, Tulsa, Okla 1998.
7. Greene, P. A., Kutsher, G. S., 15th Annual Gas Conditioning Conference, Norman,
Okla., April 6- 7, 1965.
8. Fredheim, A. O., Hoggen, R., and Owren, G. A.,TEP 30 Gassprosessering Course
Material, 2005.
9. Ikoku, C.U., Separation processing , in Natural Gas Engineering A Systems
Approach, penn Well Book, Penn Well Publishing Co., Tulsa, Okla., Ch 4,p103 79.
1980.
10. John, P.F., James, M.E., Natural Gas waste Production and Management Practices
SPE Paper (29716), 1995
11. Johnson, J. E., Homme, A. C., Jr.,Selexol Solvent Process Reduces Lean, High-CO2
Natural Gas Treating Costs, Energy Progr. 4, No, 4, p. 241-248, 1984.
12. Klein, J. P., Development in Sulfinol and Adip processes increases uses, Oil and
Gas int., 10, No. 9, September, p. 109 112, 1970.
13 Knapp, H., Processing Gas Conditioning Conference, Norman, Okla., p. C-1, 1968.
14. Kohl, A.L, Nielsen, R. B., Gas Purification 5th edition, Gulf Publishing Company,
1997.
46
15. Maddox, R. N., Gas Conditioning and Processing Advanced Techniques and
Applications, Ed.: Campbell, J. M., Campbell Petroleum Series, Norman, Okla., 4,
April, p. 370, 1982.
16. Mak, J., Wierenga, D., Nielsen, D., and Graham, C., New Physical Solvent
Configurations for Offshore high PressureCO2 Removal, OTC Paper (15354), 2003
17. Meisner III, R. E., Wagner, U., Low-energy Process Recovers CO2 Oil and Gas
Journal., 81, No.5 February 7, p. 55 58, 1983.
18. Mustard, D.G., and Rios, A.G.,Amine Contactor Benzene Emissions Reduction
Project in East Baston Rouge Parish, Louisiana SPE Paper (61024), 2000
19. Myerski, F.J., Koraido, S.M., and Fillo, J.P., Sampling and Analysis of Wastes
Generated from Natural Gas Industry Operation, GRI Report, 1993.
20. Perry, C. R., Activated Carbon Filtration of Amine and Glycol Solutions
Proceeding Gas Conditioning Conference 1974, University of Oklahoma Extension
Division.
21. Reif, D. et al, 1995 Measurement of BTEX Emission from the Regenerator Vents of
Amine Units, 1995 GRI Glycol Dehydrator/Gas Processing Air Toxics Conference,
Denver, Colorado.
22. Rejoy, A., Jaffret, C., Natural Gas Production and Transport, Institut Francais Du
Petrol Publications, 1997.
23. Ruziska, P. A., Chem.Eng-Prog, 69, No 2, Feb. 1973 P 67
24. Sorensen, J.A., Gallagher, J.R., Chollak, D., and Harju, J.A., Remediation Strategies
for Soils Contaminated with Amine-Based Gas Sweetening WastesSPE Paper
52712, 1999.
25. Tennyson, R. N., and Schaaf, R. P., Guideline can help choose Proper Process for
Gas Treating Plants, Oil and Gas Journal, p. 78-85, January 10, 1977
26. Weiss, H., Rectisol Wash for Purification of partial Oxidation Gases, Gas Sep. &
Purif., 2 December, p. 171 176, 1998.
27. Wichert, E., Aziz, K., Calculate Zs for Sour Gases, Hydrocarbon Process., 51, No, 5
May, p. 119- 122, 1972.
47
Table 2: Data Generated from the Simulation Model
25 wt%DEA, Circulation rate 1400kgmol/hr

Pfeed gas
(kpa) PCO2 ( kpa) Temp oC molCO2/MolDEA molC1/MolDEA molCO2/sweet gas
5000 286,2 30 0,6117 0,01401 0,2438
35 0,6074 0,01366 0,2693
40 0,6021 0,01348 0,3039
10000 572,6 30 0,6314 0,02625 0,1014

35 0,6309 0,02563 0,1052
40 0,6284 0,02531 0,1143
15000 858,9 30 0,6401 0,03739 0,0481

35 0,6405 0,03659 0,0496
40 0,6419 0,03618 0,0538
30 wt%DEA
Pfeed gas
5000 286,2 30 0,5366 0,01084 0,1227
35 0,5402 0,01056 0,1236
40 0,5427 0,01036 0,1264
10000 572,6 30 0,5484 0,0237 0,0514

35 0,5527 0,01991 0,0615
40 0,5495 0,02037 0,0623
15000 858,9 30 0,5541 0,02908 0,0192

35 0,5579 0,02848 0,0246
40 0,55482 0,02817 0,0271
35 wt%DEA
Pfeed gas
5000 286,2 30 0,4688 0,008668 0,1225
35 0,4743 0,008451 0,1927
40 0,4773 0,008302 0,2786
10000 572,6 30 0,4767 0,01634 0,0456

35 0,4815 0,01598 0,0478
40 0,4843 0,01573 0,0492
15000 858,9 30 0,481 0,02336 0,0155

35 0,4851 0,0229 0,0196
40 0,4873 0,02259 0,0269
48
Table 3 Effect of Lean Amine Circulation Rate on Amine Loading at 35 oC
35 wt%DEA , T = 35oC ,P = 100 bara

molDEA/Acid gas
CirDEAmine molCO2/MolDEA molC1/MolDEA molCO2/sweet gas [10-8]
1400 0,4851 0,01832 0,0457 3,268
1500 0,5534 0,01843 0,0523 4,013
1600 0,5672 0,01876 0,0634 5,243
1800 0,6012 0,01923 0,0702 6,093
1900 0,6423 0,02034 0,0832 6,352
2000 0,6537 0,02175 0,0905 7,277
Table 4. Effect of Lean Amine Circulation Rate on Amine Loading at 40oC
35 wt%DEA , T = 40oC ,P = 100 bara

molDEA/Acid gas
CirDEAmine molCO2/MolDEA molC1/MolDEA molCO2/sweet gas [10-8]
1400 0,4951 0,01832 0,0557 3,468
1500 0,5574 0,01843 0,0623 4,053
1600 0,5872 0,01876 0,0684 5,243
1800 0,6312 0,01923 0,0782 6,193
1900 0,6473 0,02034 0,0872 6,532
2000 0,6637 0,02175 0,0945 7,287
Table 5 Natural Sour Feed Gas Composition
Components Mole Fraction

Nitrogen 0.001372
Hydrogen sulfide 0.000
Carbon dioxide 0.0568
Methane 0.8991
Ethane 0.0257
Propane 0.0061
n-Butane 0.001902
n-Pentane 0.00078
Water 0.000
49
Table 6 Gas Product Stream composition after absorption process

Nitrogen 0.001359
Methane 0.956
Ethane 0.0273
Propane 0.006490
n-Butane 0.002025
n-Pentane 0.000838
Water 0.001288
DEAmine 2.0*10-8
Table 7 Typical LNG Product Specification, (David Coyle et al 2003)
Component Limit ( Maximum)

Hydrogen Sulfide 3 4 ppmv
Total Sulfur 30 milligrams per normal cubic meter
Carbon Dioxide 50 100 ppmv , 2- 3 mol%
Mercury 0.01 micrograms per normal cubic meter
Nitrogen 1 mol %
Water Vapor 1 ppmv
Benzene 1 ppmv
Ethane 6-8 mol %
Propane 3 mol %
Butane and heavier 2 mol %
Pentane and heavier 1 mol %
High Heating Value 1050 Btu/Scf (Europe and USA)
> 1100 Btu/Scf (East Asia)
50
Figure 8 % of CO2 in the Sweet Gas as a Function of Amine Concentration

With Changes in Absorber Pressure
Figure 9 Effects of Pressure and Temperature on % CO2 in the Sweet Gas

With DEAmine Concentration of 35 wt%
51
Figure 10 Effects of CO2 Loading in DEAmine with pressure and Temperature
Figure 11 Partial Pressure of CO2 in Solution as Function of CO2 Loading of 25wt% DEA
52
53
Figure 14 Lean DEA Circulation rate vs. CO2 loading in 35wt% DEA
Figure 15 Lean DEA Circulation rate vs. molCO2 in the acid gas with 35wt% DEA
54
Figure 16 A Typical Amine Base process Diagram
Figure 17 A Typical Fluor Solvent Process unit
55
Figure 18 A typical Selexol Process Unit
Figur 19 Process Capabilities for gas treating process
Source TEP 30 Gas Processing Course Material, 2005
56
Figure 20 Cooling Curve of Natural Gas and Evaporating temperature in

Cascade Process
Figure 21 Typical LNG liquefaction Cascade arrangements
57
Figure 22 Typical LNG Liquefaction Mixed refrigerant arrangements (Statoil/Linde)
Table 8 Water Content from HYSYS Simulator in [mg/Sm3]
Temperature , oC
Pressure [kpa] -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
100 135,881 916,528 4531,066 17542,497 55863,199 151869,421 362793,548
500 28,2398954 189,218225 930,501231 3587,49789 11386,30367 30872,41487 73591,29911
1000 15,05 98,56 481,08 1754,93 5830,10 15753,94 37450,76762
1500 10,36948747 68,4429878 331,788826 1265,10053 3980,607815 10718,96278 25411,00264
Table 9 Water Content from GPSA Chart in [mg/Sm3]
Pressure Temperature , oC
[kpa] -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
100 170 998 4500 17500 55000 149000 350000
500 38 220 880 3500 11000 30000 75000
1000 21 110 500 1750 5500 14900 36000
1500 15 80 350 1200 3700 10000 25000
58
Table 10 Water Content Comparison in [mg/Sm3] for 100 and 500 kpa
Pressure =100 kpa Pressure = 500 kpa

Temperature H20 content H20 % H20 content H20 % Difference
o
C from HYSYS Content Difference from Content
from HYSYS from
GPSA GPSA
-40 135.81 170 0.2 28.24 38 0.25
-20 916.528 998 0.08 189.22 220 0.14
0 4,531.066 4,500 0.0069 930.50 880 0.057
20 17,542.49 17,500 0.0024 3,587.50 3,500 0.025
40 55,863.199 55,000 0.016 11,386.30 11,000 0.035
60 151,869.421 149,000 0.019 30,872.41 30,000 0.029
80 362,793.548 350,000 0.036 73,591.30 75,000 0.018
Table 11 Water Content Comparison in [mg/Sm3] for 1000 and 1500 kpa
Pressure =1000 kpa Pressure = 1500 kpa

Temperature H20 content H20 % H20 content H20 % Difference
o
C from HYSYS Content Difference from Content
from HYSYS from
GPSA GPSA
-40 15.05 21 0.28 10.37 15 0.31
-20 98.56 110 0.10 68.44 80 0.14
0 481.08 500 0.038 331,79 350 0.052
20 1,754.93 1,750 0.003 1,265.10 1,200 0.054
40 5,830.10 5,500 0.06 3,980.61 3,700 0.076
60 15,753.94 14,900 0.057 10,718.96 10,000 0.072
80 37,450.77 36,000 0.04 25,411.00 25,000 0.016
59
Figure 23 Comparison of Fluor solvent and Promoted MDEA process relative cost
Figure 24 Comparison of Fluor Solvent and Promoted MDEA process Parameters.
60
Table 12 Approximate Guideline for amine Processes (Kensell, 1979)
MEA DEA DGA MDEA

Acid gas pickup, mol/mol 0.33 0.4 0.35 0.65 0.25 0.3 0.2 0.55
amine, Normal Range
Solution Concentration, 15 - 25 25 - 35 50 - 70 40 - 50
wt%, Normal Range
Approximate Reboiler 280 - 335 245 - 280 300 360 220 - 335
heat Duty kJ/L
Reboiler Temperature, 107 127 110 - 121 121 - 127 110 - 127
o
Normal Operation in C
Approximate Heat of 1445 - 1630 1350 - 1515 2000 1325 - 1390
Reaction, kJ/kg CO2
Table 13 Physical Properties of Amines (Source from GPSA)
MEA DEA TEA MDEA DIPA DGA

Overall Chemical C2H7NO C4H11NO2 C6H15NO3 C5H13NO2 C6H15NO2 C4H11NO2
formula
Molecular weight 61.08 105.14 149.19 119.17 133.19 105.14
(kg/kmol)
Boiling Point at 170.6 269.2 360 247.4 248.9 221.3
o
101325 pa , C
Specific Gravity 1.0179 1.0919 1.1258 1.0418 0.9890 1.0572
o o o o o o
(20 C/20 C) (30 C/20 C) (45 C/20 C)
Absolute 0.0241 0.380 0.1030 0.1010 0.198 0.0400
Viscosity at 20oC (30oC) (45oC) (15.6oC)
(pa.s)
Melting point, oC 10.5 28.0 22.4 -23.0 42.0 -12.5
Specific Heat at 2546 2512 2931 2238 2889 2391
15.6 (J/kg.K) (20oC) (30oC)
Flash Point oC 93.3 137.8 185.0 129.4 123.9 126.7
61
Figure 25 Flow Process for Determination of Water Content
62
Figure 26 Water Content of Hydrocarbon Gas from GPSA
63
APPENDIX A: Basic Raw Data and Base Case Simulation Data
Table 14 Sour Gas Feed Composition Parameters
Temperature 30 oC
Pressure 6900 kpa ( 69 bara)
Molar Flow rate 1250 kgmol/h
Nitrogen 0.001372
Methane 0.8991
Ethane 0.0257
Propane 0.0061
n-Butane 0.001902
n-Pentane 0.00078
Water 0.000
Table 15 Amine Lean-Rich Heat Exchanger
L/R HX
Tube Outlet Temperature 95 oC
Tube Side Pressure Drop 70 kpa
Shell Side Pressure Drop 70 kpa
Table 16 Lean Amine to the Contactor
Temperature 35 oC
Pressure 6865 kpa
Std Ideal Volume Flow 43 m3/h
Comp Mass Fraction (H2O) 0.7181
Comp Mass Fraction (DEAmine) 0.2801
64
APPENDICES B: Water Content Determination Procedures
WICHERT AND AZIZ CORRELATION FOR PSEUDO CRITICAL PROPERTIES OF

GAS WITH CO2 AND H2S PRESENT
Critical Temperature of Hydrocarbon Content in the Gas

N
T pcHc = y i TciHC
i =1
Critical Pressure of Hydrocarbon Content in the Gas
N
p pcHc = y i p ciHC
i =1
Critical Temperature Adjusted for Non Hydrocarbon present
T pc* = (1 y N 2 y co 2 y H 2 s ) * T pcHc + y N 2TcN 2 + y co 2Tcco 2 + y H 2 s TcH 2 s
Critical Pressure Adjusted for Non Hydrocarbon present

p *pc = (1 y N 2 y co 2 y H 2 s ) * p pcHc + y N 2 p cN 2 + y co 2 p cco 2 + y H 2 s p cH 2 s
[ ]
= 120 ( y co 2 + y H 2 s ) 0.9 ( y co 2 + y H 2 s )1.6 + 15( y H0.52 s y H4 2 s )
T pc = T pc*
p *pc (T pc* _ )
p pc =
T pc* + y H 2 s (1 y H 2 s )*
p
Pr =
pc
T
Tr =
Tc
Compressibility factor using Hall and Yarborough correlation
Ppr
Z=
y
[
= 0.06125t * exp 1.2(1 t ) 2 ]
Where;
1
t=
T pr
65
y = the reduced density parameter (the product of a van der Waals covolume and density)
is obtained by solving
y + y2 + y3 y4
f ( y ) = 0 = p pr + This equation is solved using Newton raphson
(1 y ) 3
iteration
Z = function (Tr, Pr)
DETERMINATION OF WATER CONTENT USING HYSYS SIMULATOR AND

WICHERT AND AZIZ CORRELATION
EXAMPLE:
Determination of water content present in a given Feed Gas at T= -40oC and P = 100kpa
Data from HYSYS application
Molecular weight of water Mw = 18.02 kg/kmol
Molecular weight of gas with water Mg_w = 16.46115 kg/kmol
Mole fraction of pure water Cw = 1.78*10-4
Mass density of water- gas mixture g-w = 0.853289 kg/m3
1 * 0.853289kg
Therefore the number of mole of water present is n g w = = 0.05184kmol
kg
16.46115
kmol
From real gas equation PV = nZRT
And
PscVsc PV
Clapeyron equation =
Tsc T
Calculation of mole of gas is determined by combination of real gas and Clapeyron

equation
This gives;
n sc Z sc R = n H 2o ZR
n H 2 o = is the mole of water present at a given feed gas conditions.

n sc * Z sc
n H 20 =
Z
Where; Zsc = 1
66
Z Factor = 0,995188 Compressibility factor of the feed gas at a given T, P obtained
from Hall and Yarborough correlation.
m w,1m = n g w,im * C w * M w
kg
m w,1m = 0.05184 * 1.78 * 10 4 *18.0151[kmol. = kg
kmol
m w,1m = 1.6623 * 10 4 kg
Using clapeyron equation to convert 1 mole of gas to standard condition

Vsc = 1.22553 kg/Sm3
See table A below.
Mass of water per 1 Sm3
1.6623 * 10 4
M H 20 = [kg / Sm 3 ]
1,2256
M H 2 o = 1.35881 * 10 4 kg / Sm 3 * 10 +6 = 135.881[mg / Sm 3 ]
Table 17 Water Content Evaluated
Name Satgas Satgas Satgas Satgas Satgas Satgas Satgas

Temperature,
oc -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Pressure,
kpa 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Pr 0,022898782 0,022898782 0,02289878 0,02289878 0,02289878 0,022898782 0,022898782
Tr 1,199442763 1,302332985 1,40522321 1,50811343 1,61100365 1,713893873 1,816784095
Zfac 0,995266924 0,99631001 0,99709873 0,9977037 0,99817291 0,998540929 0,998832586
MH20 per 1m3
of gas, kg 1,67E-04 1,03E-03 4,73E-03 1,71E-02 5,08E-02 1,30E-01 2,92E-01
Vsc 1,225538674 1,127533843 1,04414941 0,97232293 0,90979556 0,854862612 0,80621356
WH20_gas
mg/Sm3 135,881 916,528 4531,066 17542,497 55863,199 151869,421 362793,548
67

Removal of Carbon Dioxide From Natural Gas For LNG Production

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Removal of Carbon Dioxide From Natural Gas For LNG Production

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Optimization of Amine Base CO2 Removal Process

REMOVAL OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM NATURAL GAS

Semester Project Work

Institute of Petroleum Technology

The aims of this project is to present a comprehensive review of different processes

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my Supervisor Professor Jon Steinar

7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT --------------------------------------------------------- 33

Today, computer-aided process simulation is nearly universally recognized as an essential

2 LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG) PRODUCTION

2.1 Gas Production and Field Development

2.2 Onshore Gas Treatment

2.3 Liquefaction Process

2.4 LNG Shipping

2.5 Receiving and Re-gasification Terminal

2.6 End use as Fuel

LNG can be applied in a wide rage of energy needs as follow;

3 CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL PROCESSES

3.1 Process selection factors

3.2 Physical absorption processes

3.2.1 Selexol process

3.2.1.1 Process description

ADVANTAGE OF SELEXOL PROCESS

DISADVANTAGES OF SELEXOL PROCESS

3.2.2 Rectisol process

3.2.2.1 Process description of rectisol process

ADVANTAGES OF RECTISOL PROCESS

DISADVANTAGES OF RECTISOL PROCESS

3.2.3 Fluor process

3.2.3.1 Process description for low medium CO2 content

3.2.3.2 High CO2 content fluor solvent application

ADVANTAGES OF FLUOR PROCESS

i. FLOUR process required no fired duty for solvent regeneration.

DISADVANTAGES OF FLUOR PROCESS

i. Solvent circulation for the FLUOR solvent process is high.

3.3 Chemical absorption process

3.3.1 Potassium carbonate process

3.3.2 Process description of carbonate process

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

DISADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

3.4 Membrane process

3.4.1 Process description

In membrane process feed gas is normally pre-treated/conditioned before entering the

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

DISADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS

3.5 Adsorption process

ADVANTAGES OF ADSORPTION PROCESS

3.6 Cryogenic process

Low temperature distillation (Cryogenic separation) is a commercial process

3.7 Hybrid separation processes

4 WATER CONTENT OF NATURAL GAS

4.1 Water content determination using GPSA chart

4.2 Water content determination using hysys program

4.3 Comparison of water content results

5 HYSYS PROCESS SIMULATION PACKAGE

6 AMINE BASE PROCESS FACILITIES

Formation of carbonate bicarbonate:

( RNH 3 ) 2 CO3 + H 2 O + CO2 2 RNH 3 HCO3 6.2

Monoethanolamine (MEA); the concentration of MEA in solution is usually about 10-

Diglycolamine (DGA) exhibit similar properties with monoethanolamine, but is less

Diisopropanolamine (DIPA) is used, in relatively high concentration from (30 40%)

Methylethanolamine (MDEA) allows the selective absorption of H2S in the presence of

6.1 Process description

6.2 Justification of amine process